The truth about heartland.

That is odd. If they are "Big" Bosses, since I have been here 4 years and have no idea who they are.
And as to the other post you are referencing. I have turned down loads many times when I could not do them, either due to lack of sleep after waiting for maintance or when I had to shut down once due to weather. I am guessing these are dispatchers that he had issues with, not anyone high up. And why would heartland care where a driver goes after they quit or get fired. Heck once they are gone they are gone.
I would love to hear the other side of these story's. It is one of the funny things that happens on their facebook. These people get on it talking crap and the company tries to talk to them. In the end if they continue they will bring up the reason they were fired and give both sides.
Does every dispatcher or planner care? Nope
Does every dispatcher or planner in any large carrier care? Nope.
Yes, I agree they should all care if they are going to work in that job, and they should really do every thing in their power to help the drivers out. Being home 1 Friday a month or for a doctors apt every month does not seem like a hard thing to handle to me. But I know that they do at times have issues with getting people home for them. I have had issues getting home on an exact weekday. Only way I can do it is put in for the day before, and remind them every single day till it happens. But that is how it is when some dispatchers have large fleets to deal with.

 

I have been driving for Heartland Express for the past 18 years and thought I would put in my two cents. I am currently running SE regional, live in Florida, and am home at least 3 out of 4 weekends.
I ran the system (48 states) for the first 6 years and have been SE regional since then. I found that Heartland runs more short haul than not, so I got on regional to be home. Mileage averages about 2100 paid a week. Home time, I usually get my reset in, average 13/4 day. This can very depending on how heavy the freight is running. The past 2 weekends I have had 3 days off.
Now as far as Heartland not caring, I could not disagree more. I have heard of terminal managers attending driver funerals, and I know a close friend that was forced off the road due to a medical problem, and he has recieved phone calls from the terminal manager after being gone for over a year. So to say they don't care is totally wrong. If you are a good dependable driver, they will look out after you, but if you are a screw up, then probally not.
I have been driving for 36 years and have found all large companies have thier ups and downs, Heartland has more pluses for me then minuses.
Pluses: 1) home time 2) great per mile pay 3) good equipment 4) caring management 5) no driver unload 6) financially stable company
Minuses 1) average weekly mileage low than most, but they make up for it in pay per mile, I currently get .45 per mile 2) long lines at inspection bay, but they have a super CSA rating which will get you thru most dot checks without being stopped, plus equipment is maintained well and they now do truck service by appt which speeds things up. 3) they, like most, are very picky about their equipment
Some pluses I forgot 1) you can take your truck home up to 3 days, once you have 10 years in you can take it home for up to 10 days on vacation. 2) now putting invertors in all tractors.
Anything else I can help you with, message me. thx for reading my post

 

Well, a little update.

I moved down to Tampa FL. From Jamestown NY a few weeks ago. Taking a one week vacation for the move.
I took a pay cut to move anyway, then another to go on a dedicated fleet that averages good miles and home every weekend. Was not happy with the size of the cut, but if the miles are there I am ok.
Took a week to get a truck, which was upsetting as I have said in some posts. But I did find out the other day to my surprise that I was put in for heartland cares money for the downtime. I did not expect it or ask for it. But got a decent check for waiting. I am very appreciative. I was going broke and the week without any pay would have hurt bad.

Got in a truck last Tuesday around 0130, started running after a nights rest. Got pretty good miles for the week, even though I only worked Tues-Friday and was home for dinner. Close to 1800 miles I think, have not added it up.
This week I have run all week. A few of your normal snags but have gotten full driving days in each day and been doing well. Lined up to be home Friday again, at least it is looking that way.
So far I am happy with the move and how I am running. We shall see at the end of a month. I hate to rate on a weekly basis. Since freight goes up and down and I am also new to this region. Seems to be a really good fleet for FL drivers that need to be home every week. No, it is not OTR money. But it is better than most local pay around here.

 

What a scumbag operation. I'm out. I'm tapping. I will not work for people like this. Not a chance.

 

What was the last straw for you?

 

Uhh, the last straw is that last week he worked for Gordon, and woke up monday working for Heartland. When you are a good, safe, hard working OTR driving you can work for anyone you want to. Joseph chose to work for Gordon, not Heartland. As a side note if I was upper management at Heartland I would be doing everything in my power to keep drivers like Joeseph, he (and his peers, Tow and even Vic lol) are the kind of drivers that you build a company on. They are as different as night and day, but they show up on time, work hard, and deliver their loads safely and on time.

 

Thanks cougfan.. we do appreciate the comments.

Maybe someday we might meet and you can buy me lunch......lol

 

O.K. It seems to me not too many readers on this forum believe me, when I say that Heartland Express will prevent you from getting hired by other well respected companies. They will write in your DAC record untrue phrases,
which by the way, can take months to clear up with Hire Right. That is the company that keeps your working record history. They (Hire Right) will NOT change anything in your record without the express permission from those who put it in your record. The best that you can do is submit a complaint to them, stating the facts as you see them. Your adversary, in this case Heartland Express, inc. of Iowa, will respond to them, taking their sweet time to do so. In
response to your question.......Or rather statement to the effect that Heartland has nothing to gain by ruining your good driving record, All I have to say is, that they do it because they can, because they are vicious, nasty,
unethical in their behavior, and just because they can. You may say......And what did you do do to piss them off to such degree? A top ten account load could not be delivered on time due to an engine problem. At the time they thought my husband just didn't want to make the delivery, which was not true. This resulted in bringing down a percentage of their "On Time Delivery" for the month---Affecting the review for the fleet manager, and the boss, at the time: (Jay Courtney and Cliff). They concocted a plan with the safety Dept., since they could not find any other violations, stating that my husband's records were "historically unsafe" How a trucking co. can make such statements when the driving record of said employee is absolutely perfect, is beyond my level of understanding. To this day I see them as a bunch of spiteful, lying, unethical thieves---who will stop at nothing to apply revenge on those who have been detrimental to their bottom line. (Even if the detriment in question was not the fault of the driver, nor was this incident manufactured for selfish motives----Or any other reason, than the fact that the engine stopped working when it did. There is more to the story, but this is the short version. So....Would I ever recommend anyone to work for this company? My resounding answer will always be: NO!!! Unless, of course, you wish to find yourselves in the same predicament we are in, today. Many blessings to all, and to all a very happy Thanksgiving!!!!

 

Seekingwork101....

I appreciate your post since I am now unwillingly an employee of Heartland Express.

I have read other reports of this type about them...

Oddly enough I just received a copy of my DAC report this week that I had ordered over a month ago , proving a clean record up to now.

While a lot of companies do get these reports when considering a driver ; I have found that they are not used as a sole factor in determining ones employment eligibility.

If your husband had an extended work record showing him to be a safe and reliable employee then the dac should not have kept him out nor even a phone call.

I am not defending Heartland in any way since I don't even know them yet.

Truth is I am still quite apprehensive about the future.

I hope all turns out well for you.

 

Thanks, Tow614 for your kind sentiments and opinions. I'm sorry I have to differ with you regarding employment with a new company, as long as your record is clean. Yes.....There are companies that will employ you, no problem. However, those are NOT the type of companies where someone with a twenty year experience will necessarily want to work. The most sought after companies such as Walmart will NOT hire a driver, based purely on a log-book violation. Which by the way, Heartland describes in the DAC as a "falsification". My husband, always thinking that for official purposes such transgression would be classified as a "violation", proceeded to describe it as a "violation". Subsequent to the face to face interview; where all questions and road test went well, my husband was advised that he would be hired, pending receipt of Heartland's report. Once they received the report, approximately two weeks after the interview, he received a phone call from Walmart Headquarters. The news was that my husband could NO longer be considered for employment with Walmart due to the report from Heartland Express. There was only one word for which my husband was NOT Hired: "Falsification of records" How anyone can describe in an official record a transgression involving fractions of a mile as a "falsification" is beyond my level of understanding. On top of that, Heartland had the gull to also state that my husband's driving record was unsafe. What????????? Excuse me????? How can anyone describe a perfectly clean record, with not as much as a traffic violation, nor any accidents or incidents, or even a speeding ticket.......As an unsafe record? If anything, my husband was fired for being overly cautious. He, along with all drivers on the George Washington Bridge in NYC., had to come to complete halt. Nobody moved for a few minutes, and subsequently everybody started to move very slowly. While NO traffic was moving at all, he pressed the wrong button to save a few minutes, walking around the truck to find out what was wrong. Accident perhaps? Well.....Those few minutes cost him his job.....The moral of the story is that if you try to help the Operations Dept., (which my husband did) you are on your own. They push loads down the throats of drivers. All they care about, is the board. Will it show that we are at 99% on time delivery? If not....There will be hell to pay if a top ten account load is NOT on time. Just so that you keep this in mind....Operations will concoct a legitimate story to fire the driver. Yes.....That is how it works. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Anytime that Operations wants to apply revenge on a driver for committing such an infraction, if they can't find a legitimate reason to fire the driver-----They will seek the assistance of Safety---who, of course, will do their bidding. In my humble opinion, I'd keep a diary of every phone call. Better yet, tape your conversations with them. As for coming home on time and demanding that they keep their end of the deal once approved, don't tell them in advance what you intend to do. Just go home, keep a record of the incident, and make sure you have another job waiting. You should know that if you are to one day be called into the "office", they will call you to fire you. Demand a record of the reason for which you are being fired. Demand in writing the reason for same. They will NOT write down in front of you, why you are being fired. You have the right to obtain that while in the office. Don't accept their" Is all right: You will get it in the mail, etc. Try to record the entire interview, and tell them that you are doing so for posterity.
This above mentioned advice is not just for you. Is for all Heartland Drivers. Had my husband done just one of the above, he would not have been fired as easily. Only because if the taping of the interview ever goes to court, they will treat the driver with respect. The guy representing "Safety" was belligerent towards my husband. Screaming, confrontational, yelling at my husband and being disorderly. Would he have exhibited such behavior knowing that the exit "Interview" was being taped? Of course....NOT.. These people need to come across a driver who is prepared, who is not intimidated, and with whom they cannot play games. Enough said.
Best to all and many blessings.